The Rose By Any Other Name
by A Bean
Summary: Jack, the highschool bully, has gotten himself in trouble with the worst crew around the school there is. That is, to say, not really a very threatening group at all. Theta has disappeared because of him, and Koschei, wracked with grief, wants to say all the things he never could to his best friend before he dies.
1. Chapter 1

**Please read!**

 **First of all, I'd like to say that a lot of characters in this story will be out of character. IT IS NOT THAT I HATE SOME CHARACTERS AND LOVE OTHERS, I just wanted to make them differently. I absolutely love Jack and Rose, but I wanted to make them some unique villains instead of making up some random alien race or human threat. I wanted to use pre-existing characters.**

 **Secondly, I don't own _Doctor Who_ or _Harry Potter._ This is not a crossover but I do use something from Harry Potter in this fanfiction, just cause I thought it would fit.**

 **Thirdly, there is a lot of violence and tw if you're homophobic cause _damn they gay af_**

 **None of this is meant to offend anyone in any way! Please understand that.**

 **Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

At Gallifrey High, there was one rule, and it was that Jack Harkness ruled the school. Charming, flirty, and all around good-looking, he was certainly the nicest and most popular boy around. He was hardworking, achieved good grades in all his classes, and was the quarterback of the football team. He was respectful and helped out teachers when he could, whether it was picking up papers or getting them coffee in the mornings. Jack Harkness was capable of doing no wrong, as he was the perfect student and absolutely wonderful and polite to all.

The student body knew better, however. Jack Harkness was a bully and none of the teachers seemed to care. Neither did his girlfriend, Rose Tyler (who was just as popular as he), even though she disliked bullying. She had eyes only for Jack, and Jack for her (or so she thought) but there was another boy, Koschei Oakdown, who seemed to just want to get to know Rose Tyler and be friends, but he never did get the chance because of Jack.

How Jack _hated_ Koschei Oakdown. In fact, he hated most of the little nerd group- Koschei Oakdown, the slightly insane boy who was plainly in love with his best friend; Theta Sigma or 'The Doctor' as he insisted, a nerdy, stuttering, shy genius with an abusive father; Martha Jones, the wannabe doctor; Donna Noble, the fast-talking, fiery tempered woman from Chiswick who even Jack was a little afraid of; and Mickey Smith, who Jack really couldn't find a purpose for other than tagging along like a dog.

Generally, he left Donna and Mickey alone, Donna because she was scary and Mickey because he wasn't really of any importance. He liked to target Koschei and Theta the most, and sometimes Martha Jones, but Koschei, when he could be found, was more frustrating to torment than 'The Doctor', who was around much more often and more easily scared.

In fact, Jack had most all of his classes with the nerdy _Ravenclaw_ (a nickname he'd given to the younger boy as a nod to Harry Potter, Jack's favorite series, placing Theta in the most useless, nerdy and terrible house there was, in Jack's opinion) and therefore was able to get Theta to do his homework for him, achieving his good grades and a top spot in every class. He had most classes with Koschei too, but for whatever reason, Koschei was remarkably good at avoiding Jack. It was like he was only found when he wanted to be, and that annoyed Jack to no end.

However, today was Monday, which meant a whole new week of exciting opportunities and make-out sessions with Rose (and maybe Ianto) in the janitor's closet.

He checked himself in the mirror, making sure he looked good before throwing his bag over his shoulder and heading out to school, calling goodbye to his parents. It was a ten-minute walk to school, so he took his time walking, arriving fifteen minutes before the bell rang to signal classes beginning. He put his things and his grandfather's jacket from WWII into his locker and went to find Rose, who was hanging out with her friends- some unnamable girls Jack hadn't taken notice of as the more annoyingly popular girls he chose to stay away from.

"Hey sweetie," he said as Rose jumped into his arms happily.

"'ello!" Rose said enthusiastically. "Christina was just tellin' me how Britney said that Evelina said to Johnson who 'ad heard from Christopher that Donna Noble 'ad a _boyfriend!_ "

"Fascinating," Jack said, looking sneakily for Ianto. He didn't care about Donna Noble besides the fact that he didn't like her.

"An' so when _Chris_ 'eard that he was all like..." Rose's babbling droned into the background as he saw the group he despised enter the main hallway.

"...an' then _I_ said that he wouldn't even like science fiction anyway, an'-"

"Sorry, love," Jack said, looking tenderly at her. "I have to go get my homework. I'll see you in first period, okay?" He gave her a quick kiss and then slipped away to confront Theta about his homework. He was at his locker, trying to put books in, when Jack came up behind him and shoved them all out of his hands. Theta whirled around, crying a 'h-hey!' before he saw just who it was and looking down at the ground.

"Homework, _Ravenclaw_ ," Jack demanded. Immediately the Doctor dropped to the ground, scrambling for various pieces of paper he knew to be Jack's homework.

"You got my homework on the _ground_?" Jack asked, choosing to forget the fact that he was the one to make everything fall in the first place.

"I-I'm sorry," Theta whispered, frantically gathering everything up before giving it to Jack, not meeting his eyes.

"You'd better be," he muttered, then deciding to forego any physical punishment, he turned and made his way to his first period, aware of the hateful glares from the rest of Theta's little friends.

* * *

The Doctor sat miserably, staring at all of his unorganized papers and homeworks he'd have to reorganize during study hall.

"Hey now," Donna said, kneeling to help him pick everything up, "You're okay. At least he didn't hurt you this time."

"I-I... I guess..." the Doctor managed to choke out, though it wasn't very loud. Martha, Mickey and Koschei all helped him pick everything up too, and he barely made it to his first period before the bell rang.

"Sigma, how nice of you to join us. Have a seat," Borusa said, motioning to the back of the class where the Doctor usually liked to sit anyway. He gulped and made his way to his seat, narrowly avoiding Jack's protruding foot in the aisle and tripping. He heard snickers but pretended to pay them no mind.

It was a long first period, which didn't usually happen for the Doctor because he liked trigonometry, but he was glad when it was over and made his way out. English was a bit tense for him as they'd needed to get in groups and he was chosen for Jack and Rose's group.

"Where's your lit'le _friend_?" Rose asked mockingly. "Y'know, the one that follows me around?"

"H-he's i-in calculus," the Doctor whispered, having memorized Koschei's schedule.

Jack barked out a laugh. "Calculus is the only word he can say without stuttering! My god, _Ravenclaw_ , you really _are_ a nerd."

The Doctor's ears burned and he finished all three of their projects by himself, Jack and Rose thankfully too busy in making snide comments about him and his friends so that he didn't have to talk. The second the bell rang, he bolted for his next period (thankfully it was History with 'Chei and Donna) and ignored the shouts of 'Where ya going, _Ravenclaw?'_ following him all the way.

He got there two minutes early, allowing him to sit next to the Master and Donna and talk for a little bit. History was the Doctor's favorite subject, next to science, and he always helped his friends if they couldn't understand the material, even though history was relatively easy.

"Are you okay?" The Master whispered to the Doctor after the bell rang.

 _I am now that I'm away from Jack,_ he thought, but he'd never be able to say that out loud and be quick enough at the same time for his teacher not to hear, so he just nodded and focused on the Revolutionary War.

* * *

Fourth period was relatively uneventful even though Jack and Koschei were in his Chemistry class. Surprisingly, this was the only class Jack seemed to not notice him in. The Doctor had asked Koschei, and he had just smiled and said he didn't know.

Finally, it was lunch. Theta enjoyed lunch, even though he didn't always have enough to eat and had to be given food from his friends.

"'Chei," Martha asked the blonde-haired boy, "Why is it that nobody ever sees you if you don't want them to?"

He shrugged. "I learned how to blend in and not be seen a long time ago. D'you wanna see?" He grinned and stood up. Everyone at the table watched him saunter over to Jack's table where he was sitting with Rose. He leaned over and said something to her, then she leaned away and Jack stood up, clearly angry. Koschei laughed and began walking away, and even though Martha followed him with her eyes, a student passed her line of vision and he was gone. Jack apparently had lost sight of him too, and the anger and confusion on his face was enough for the rest of them to softly laugh at.

"That's how you do it," the Master said, having suddenly reappeared at the table and was now eating Mickey's pudding.

"Oi," Mickey said, but he didn't try to take it back.

The Master merely shrugged and the conversation drifted to different topics, including what time their study group would be that night at the library.

"I- I think s-s-s-" the Doctor looked angry at his inability to pronounce the word. "S-seven," he finally spit out. "Seven, tonight... a-and w-we can do wha-atever you guys need ca-atching up on-n..."

"Seven sounds good for me," the Master immediately agreed. Everyone else murmured their agreement and the Doctor grinned. He loved helping them all study, even if he was ahead in his classes and still had to do the work for Jack Harkness. He usually breezed through it and it wasn't a problem. Plus, being at the library and doing whatever homework he had kept him away from his father, and he usually came home late enough that he had passed out already.

"D'we all wanna go to that new ice-cream parlor that's just opened, two blocks down?" Donna asked. "I've heard it's good, and we can waste time before heading to the library."

"I've been wanting to try that place," Martha agreed. "Let's do it."

* * *

Finally after study hall, PE and computer class (all with Koschei and Jack, except study hall where it was all of his friends except Martha and also Jack and Rose), the signal for the end of school rang, and the Doctor went to his locker and grabbed his long brown coat before he shut it and waited for Jack to come give him his homework. Martha, who noticed how long it was taking this time, offered to wait with him, but he said no and to just meet him at the ice-cream parlor. Martha frowned but left it.

The Doctor waited, and waited, and the longer he waited to more nervous he got. Soon, everyone else had left school, including Rose Tyler as he had seen her with her friends, and yet still the Doctor waited. He cursed himself for being so weak and unable to leave. He paced around the hallway, muttering under his breath and avoiding the stray teachers that wandered about.

Finally, the minute before he was going to leave, Jack appeared.

"Well well well," Jack said. "Look at my perfectly trained little pet!"

Instantly the Doctor stopped his pacing where he was and stared resolutely at the ground, a tight grip on his backpack with one hand. He wished now he had had the courage to leave.

"I left my bag in the library, unfortunately," Jack said, referring to the school library. "Come with me."

It wasn't a question. The Doctor followed him, still not making a sound. They reached the library and to the Doctor's horror, it seemed the librarian had left for the day. Suddenly, he flinched violently as he felt hands grab him and shove him into the rows of books and leading them to a corner, effectively hiding them from view and preventing the Doctor from escaping.

"So you think," Jack spat as the Doctor cowered into the wall, "That you can just _slack_ on my homework and _forget_ to give me some of it?"

"W-what?" The Doctor asked, completely confused, then found himself reeling after a slap to the face.

"Don't talk when I'm talking," Jack thundered, "Ever. New rule, got it?"

The Doctor nodded meekly.

"So today," Jack said, "You're gonna go explain to Mr. Williams why I should be excused for the missing assignment _you_ gave me."

"B-but-"

 _"What the hell did I say about talking?!"_ Jack roared, grabbing him by the neck and lifting him up a good two feet off the ground. The Doctor's hands scrabbled wildly at Jack's own, trying to make him release his life-threatening grip. A minute passed, and the Doctor's mouth flapped open but no sound came out. His kicking and struggling became weaker. The lack of oxygen flow was getting to him, and he felt darkness overwhelm him.

* * *

"That's exactly what I thought," Jack muttered as he let go of the pinstriped boy, letting him fall to the ground, unconscious. He waited for the pale boy to get up.

"C'mon," he said, kicking him in the ribs as if that would help. "Get up, come on."

There was no movement. Jack kicked him again.

And then with a gasp, the Doctor sat up, coughing and panting and holding his side. His eyes were wild and he didn't seem to be able to focus on anything. His breathing was short and erratic, and he was shaking violently.

Jack was unsure how to handle this, so he tried to just act normal. "Come on, Sigma, you have some explaining to do for Mr. Williams." Theta sat on the ground still, and it seemed all the color had gone out of his face. "What's wrong with you?" Jack extended a hand to try and help the other boy up, but this was met with a violent flinch and a small cry. Theta seemed to realize he'd just made noise and shoved his hand into his mouth, trying to stifle the sobs that came with the tears flowing down his face.

"Oh, no," Jack said, sitting beside him. "Oh god, you're having a panic attack, aren't you?"

Theta had now shoved himself into the corner and was now curled into a tight ball. He was muttering something, and upon closer listening, Jack heard an incessant stream of _I'm sorry, I'm so sorry_ over and over again, and every so often he'd beg _please!_ as if he had done something wrong.

"Oh my god," Jack said, studying the boy to make sure it was a panic attack before he did anything else. Sweat poured off of him, he was shaking and trembling and he looked terrified. He was close to hyperventilating. Jack knelt next to him and took him by the shoulders despite Theta's attempts to crawl away from him.

"Theta," he said. _"Theta."_ No response. "Doctor!"

Brown eyes snapped up to look at Jack's own blue ones. "Breathe. Breathe with me, come on. You can do it." Jack showed him. In. Out. In. Out.

The Doctor was trying, he could see. "You can do it," Jack said. "In, out... In, out, that's good. Good job."

Knowing that he was a little calmer but still feeling detached from his surroundings, Jack said, "Now point out five things you can see."

The Doctor's breath hitched but he tried to keep it steady. He looked uncertain.

"You can talk," Jack assured. "You can talk, I won't hurt you."

"The-" Theta paused, hunching in on himself and looking ready to take a hit as he glanced at Jack with afraid eyes. "Th-the wood pan-neling, o-on the wa-a-alls."

"Good," Jack said, "Another thing?"

"Y-y-y-y-" the syllable died on his tongue with a frustrated sigh. Jack encouraged him to keep trying.

"Y-y- _you_!" The Doctor finally spat out, and began breathing rapidly again for fear he'd get in trouble for saying anything to do with Jack.

"That's right, I'm here, and I'm not gonna hurt you," Jack assured. "Come on, Doctor, breathe again. In, out, in, out." He said it methodically. "What's something else you can see?"

The Doctor looked around, his eyes landing on his backpack to the right. "M-m-my... my backpack." He was definitely calming down now. "My backpack, a-and..." he paused. "Th-the booksh-shelf?"

"That's good," Jack said. "What kind of books are they, on that bookshelf?"

The Doctor peered around Jack, trying to see. "N-n-non fiction," he whispered, now having calmed down and realizing the situation he was in.

"Non-fiction is good," Jack said. "D'you like non fiction?"

The Doctor nodded.

"No, no, come on, talk to me. What kind of nonfiction do you like? Like what books?"

The Doctor was now really confused and very nervous. This was a trick. It had to be. Nobody like Jack ever tried to kill him and then tried to be nice to him.

"W-w-why..." he hated himself for not being able to speak louder than a whisper. He felt tired and drained and nervous, and all he wanted to do was be with his friends. "W-why a-are... w-why are y-you being n-n-nice?"

Jack sighed and sat next to him rather than in front of him. "I didn't mean to choke you. I don't know why I did. I thought I had killed you. And then you were having a really bad panic attack, because of me I reckon, and I know those aren't fun, so I tried to calm you down. I don't know if I'm helping you, though, or making you more nervous."

The Doctor didn't say anything, only flinching when Jack raised his hand to scratch his head.

"I guess," Jack finally said after a while, "the student body isn't wrong about me being a bully."

The Doctor winced and avoided eye contact.

"I was just really mad today," Jack continued as if he hadn't hated the Doctor for the past three years of their high school years. "Rose, you know, she's always such a gossip and she believed some stupid shit about me and this kid Ianto having makeout sessions. I'm not gay."

The Doctor couldn't help but give a disbelieving look. Jack laughed nervously. "Alright, so I'm pansexual." He looked around as if someone would catch him saying that out loud. "And I know you're thinking why would I cheat on Rose?" He paused, thinking. "I just don't get the same feelings for her that I used to. She's great, and everything, but she's just not the one, you know?"

The Doctor pressed his lips together.

"And so earlier I think she broke up with me. That's okay, cause now I don't have to break up with her." Jack hugged his knees to his chest, mirroring the Doctor's position. "And I now know you're thinking _why is he telling me all this?_ And honestly I don't really know, but you're good at listening, and I sort of feel like I owe it to you after- well, you know."

Theta remained silent, wondering if he should speak, or if he could even muster the courage to speak.

"I'm not-" Jack began, then swiftly cut himself off. "I'm... I'm not who everyone thinks I am."

The Doctor was cold now, even though the library was warm and the sun was still shining.

"I mean, the teachers all think I'm great. The student body hates me." He thought for a moment. "You hate me, and your friends I think, and now Rose. And- and I want to not be like this in everyone's eyes. I want to be normal, and get with Ianto." He grinned at just saying the name. "He's- Ianto- he's pretty great, you know, and we study together, even though I make you do my homework-" the Doctor flinched at this "-and he's really handsome, and kind, and sweet and mellow and wonderful, and his eyes are the best and he's so gentle." He sighed happily. "He gets me coffee every day, you know? He's really wonderful and I-"

Jack paused. "I think," he whispered, looking right into the Doctor's eyes, "I- I think I love him." He giggled like a schoolgirl who had a crush and the Doctor looked highly uncomfortable. "I never said that about Rose. I mean, I said it _to_ her because I think she loved me, but I don't think I ever loved her like she loved me."

He sighed, shifting to lean against the Doctor, who stiffened and managed to only let out a small whimper, but Jack didn't seem to notice. "I think I mostly got with Rose to please my dad, you know. He doesn't like gays. And I don't know, maybe he's right, because I've always been so afraid to- to, you know, show that side of myself, I guess, and I guess he's right, you know, maybe."

"H-he..." the Doctor swallowed nervously, not raising his voice above a barely audible whisper. "He's not."

"Well, he's always told me that those kind of people- well, _my_ kind of people-" he said that in a delighted whisper "-are bad, you know, cause they- they're _wrong_ or something, that's what he says. _I'm_ wrong. It's not normal to like anything other than a girl, or if you're a girl you have to like a guy. I'm just- I'm scared, okay?"

"Why?" One-syllable words were easiest to get out.

"Cause-" Jack shifted and the Doctor did all he could to not flinch. "Cause he said that if I ever was gay again, he'd send me to the therapy."

They both shuddered at that statement. The Doctor himself wasn't particularly attracted to anything, but he could understand why being shocked in the head in order to manipulate someone to love the 'correct' gender was terrifying. He didn't want to be shocked in order to love something when his heart truly didn't. He made a mental note to research what it was called when you weren't really attracted to anything.

"Of course," Jack said hoarsely, "I've already been, once."

There was silence for a minute. "Well, not like, _one time_ , ever, but I've been to sessions until I convinced them I wasn't gay anymore. And it hurt."

 _Denying yourself or the shock therapy?_ The Doctor thought.

"And I think that's why I'm so afraid, because I- I know you and Koschei, you're part of the- the- you know, the community, and I think I've been taking out my anger and confusion on you. And Oakdown, when I can find him, but he's never around. So mostly it's you."

"'Chei's not gay," the Doctor thought aloud, forgetting every pretense to be afraid.

Jack twisted around to face him. "Of course he is."

Hesitantly, the Doctor shook his head. "He- he's never h-had a boyfriend," he explained. "N-n-never had a-anyone."

"You're blind, Ravenclaw! For all your smarts, you're so blind." Jack laughed, and for the first time in the Doctor's memory he hadn't meant the nickname _Ravenclaw_ in a demeaning way. "Oakdown has always been in love with _you._ "

The Doctor was so shocked that even if he could've spoken normally, nothing would have come out.

"M-m- _me_?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Yes, _you._ For as long as I've known you he was in love with you." Jack looked bewildered.

"B-but..."

There was silence in the library. Jack and the Doctor sat talking, unlikely allies in the moment.

"He's never been able to tell you, I think." Jack leaned against the wall now, releasing tension in the Doctor. "But that's not my thing to say."

"Y-you're weirdly pol-polite, f-for a bully," the Doctor said, wanting to change the subject. Jack detected this and laughed.

"And _you're_ not stuttering as much," Jack countered. "Why's that?"

Instantly Theta avoided eye contact again. "Sorry."

"Well, it's not like it's a bad thing," Jack said. "But why?"

"W-well," the Doctor began, "I- I don't st-stutter as much a-around my friends, l-like I am right now, b-because they- they calm me d-down... they aren't sca-scary, a-and u-usually I don't talk v-very much a-anyw-way, because it's h-hard to get words out."

"You're not saying I'm one of your friends," Jack said, but there was no emotion to it. He really was a calamity.

"N-n-no!" The Doctor shouted, flinching away. "N-no, no, th-that's not what I was s-sa-saying-"

"Then what were you saying?" Jack asked in a menacing tone.

"I-I-I was s-saying that y-you d-di-did a g-good job at calming me down!" He shouted the last five words from within his protective ball he'd curled up into to avoid any hits directed at him.

Jack breathed heavily for a few moments, then shoved the Doctor away. He hit his head on the wall and yelped but tried to stay away.

"Get out," Jack said. There was silence for a few moments as the brown-eyed genius stared at him. "I said _get out!"_ Jack slapped him across the face. _"I don't want to see you here again!"_

Quicker than lightning, the Doctor was on his feet- and then he was gone.

* * *

"Mr. Williams? About that missing assignment?" Jack padded into the history room softly.

His history teacher looked up at him and smiled. "That's alright, Theta Sigma just came in here and explained everything to me. I'll give you an extension on that paper, but make sure it's good," he winked. "Ancient Rome is my favorite time."

"Yessir, I will," Jack said, forcing a grin onto his face. "Did you see where he went?"

"Nope. Man, he and that Oakdown, they disappear when they want to, have you noticed?" Mr. Williams chuckled. "Must be my old age. Anyway, no, I didn't see where he went, but I'm sure he's not far away."

"Alright. Thank you," Jack said, and he left, knowing he wouldn't find the boy anytime he didn't want to be found after school. Jack began walking home, thinking on the peculiar two.

Theta had seemed surprised when he'd revealed that Oakdown had always liked him; Jack had thought it was common knowledge. They spent enough time together, and Oakdown obviously had had enough time to teach Theta his little disappearing tricks. It irritated Jack that they could just not be seen, quick as that. However, Theta didn't seem to use the tricks while he was in school, contrary to Koschei. More than that, he had listened to Jack when he'd gone and spilled everything, like he'd known Jack needed someone to talk to.

Jack stopped suddenly and understood why Theta stuck around during school, why he let Jack beat up on him even though he was so afraid, why he listened in the library, why he did Jack's homework every night and waited for him after school to get the homework. Theta _knew_ that Jack was lonely and in need of someone to talk to and beat up on. Theta knew, in some way, before even Jack himself knew, that that was how he expressed his emotions, and he was willing to wait it out until the end. Until he found someone that could listen better, someone that he loved enough to not hit or yell at.

Jack punched a tree out of confusion and anger, then realized he'd just proved his point to himself- he took it out physically on something else when he couldn't understand his own emotions.

Resuming his way home, Jack pondered why Theta had left after Jack had told him to, but he realized as he reached the front steps of his house that he had always obeyed Jack in everything he said. He hadn't run after he woke up from being unconscious. He hadn't run when Jack made him wait after school. He hadn't run any other time, except for when Jack told him to run. He'd obeyed. He had kept his mouth shut around Jack for the most part unless it was answering a question, and Jack had to admit that he had gone too far with ordering him not to speak. The kid had a hard enough time anyway, that was what he had said in the library.

He realized now that Theta was really unconsciously loyal, even to people who didn't like him. But nobody was loyal without a reason. Nobody was loyal unless they saw potential in someone to change.

Jack flopped on his bed, and even though it was only five o'clock in the afternoon, he didn't want to deal with the world, so he fell asleep.

* * *

The Doctor entered the ice cream parlor. It was quiet, sort of like Pop Tate's from his favorite netflix show, _Riverdale_. The door shut and he flinched on reflex, but he looked around for his friends. He found them sitting together in a booth, all squished together. They were all listening to Donna tell a tale, and Koschei saw the Doctor and grinned, moving over to make him room, squishing Mickey in the process. The Doctor sat before he remembered what Jack had said about 'Chei liking him, and suddenly he was stiff and tense.

"I 'as just telling them about Lance," Donna said. "Broke up with 'im cause he had this _thing_ for spiders!" She had an incredulous look on her face. "Spiders, can you believe it?" Then she sighed. "Still, I loved 'im... but I guess he'll find some spider girl sometime. But," she said, leaning in so they could all hear her closer, "'ave you seen Shaun?" She laughed, drawing in a breath. "Wot a _piece of meat_ is 'e? My _god,_ an' he's got a stutter, like the Doctah, but since I've spent so much time 'round you I think it's a little cute." She looked at him, then at Koschei, who was slightly red.

The Doctor only laughed, not noticing Koschei. "G-guess you won't h-have a problem with h-him, then!"

"Right!" Donna agreed excitedly. "An' I was thinkin', I said to Martha, 'maybe I could date him,' and she said sure. Wot d'you think, do I 'ave a chance?"

"Probably," Mickey said, and the rest voiced their agreement. "Shaun's a nice guy. Helps me out sometimes in chemistry."

"I'm hungry," the Master said. "Don't we have menus or something?"

"I told you not to wait," Martha chastised playfully, handing him a menu from one of the other tables.

He took it and scanned it. "Are you hungry, Doctor?"

"Um... I-I'll get a drink," he said. "M-maybe snack off yours, i-if that's alright..."

"Sure, or chips? You want chips?"

"Chips," the Doctor agreed, grinning. Everyone else at the table was watching them. Martha was grinning a little bit and seemed to be having a silent conversation with Mickey. Donna was watching them with a small smile on her face.

"What?" The Master asked.

"Nothing," Martha said. "Anyway, they have great drinks here, milkshakes and all. It's very American."

"Oh!" The Doctor suddenly exclaimed. "I-I've been to Am-merica, have I ever t-told you? Whe-when me and Ch-Chei used to l-live in G-G-"

"Gallifrey, Ireland," The Master said for him, earning a grateful look from the Doctor.

"M-my dad, h-he'd take us pla-a-places, and o-one time he said we n-needed to be up on things ab-bout the world, s-so he took us to A-America, a-and we saw-"

"Washington, DC, Texas, California and Colorado," the Master finished. The Doctor grinned, he'd thought Koschei had forgotten.

"It w-was pretty g-gr-great," the Doctor said. "So m-many Americans!"

They all laughed at that, and for the rest of the night, it was them, until their study group was over and Koschei walked Theta home.

"You never said what happened between you and Jack," he said. "And I know, I'm being annoying, but you have a cut on your face that wasn't there earlier today. And I don't want your dad being suspicious." They both nervously glanced to the house.

"W-w-we just talked," the Doctor said. "I-it was weird, a-and then a-apparently I forgot t-to give him his history paper fo-for Williams, s-so I cleared tha-at up with h-him and I left."

"He hurt you," Koschei said softly, caressing the dried blood on his face. Brown eyes met grey.

"H-he- he said-"

"I need to tell you something," Koschei interrupted. The Doctor's eyes widened and he stepped away.

"I can't," he whispered. "I- I need- I can't-" he was tripping over syllables now, not a good sign. "T-t-t-tell me tom-tomorrow, ok-okay? I- I need t-to-"He turned and ran inside, leaving a confused Koschei outside in the dark.

* * *

His dad was, thankfully, passed out on the couch, so Theta snuck up to his room and opened his laptop to Google.

"Okay," he whispered, finding it much easier to talk when he was alone.

 _sexualities_

He hit enter and up popped various links to different websites. There was a dropdown menu, featuring the question _What are some different sexualities?_ He clicked it and it listed various things. _Hetero, homo, bi, queer_. It listed a short definition for each of them, but under the word _queer_ was a single word with no explanation.

 _Asexual._

Curious, he typed the word into the search bar. Instantly it popped up with a little box with a definition and multiple images explaining what it was.

 _Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity._

His breath hitched.

 _That sounds...just like me,_ he thought. _Asexual._

He did some more digging, finding a number of terms that could be used to describe him, but he decided to stick with asexual, or maybe demisexual. He'd have to figure it out, especially since Koschei was probably just about to admit his feelings.

He thought about Jack, and what he had said. _I don't want to see you here again._ Did that mean going to school in general? Was he not allowed to go to school anymore? Probably, since Jack would probably beat him senseless the second he was seen in the hallways. He could sneak in and shove Jack's completed homework into his locker so that way he still had good grades... then he could wander around town, probably, waste his time since he didn't want to come home and deal with his dad.

He sighed. Sounded like a plan... He curled up in bed and slept.

* * *

It was lunchtime the next day. Jack found himself slammed against the lockers.

"What the _hell_ did you do with him," demanded an angry Koschei Oakdown, backed up by all his friends, minus the Doctor.

"Nothing! I haven't even seen him all day," Jack said. "I found my goddamn homework in my locker, I haven't talked to him since yesterday."

"Why isn't he here?!" Koschei yelled, shaking Jack. "What did you say to him?!"

Jack pushed Koschei off of him. "I don't _know_ ," he said. "I thought he was avoiding me. It's unlike him but I haven't even seen him today."

"Then where is he?" Martha asked.

"You said your homework was in your locker, was there anything else?" Koschei growled. "A note, anything."

"No, have you checked yours?" Jack asked impudently, but Koschei raced to his locker anyway and looked.

"Here," he said, and they all rushed over to him.

 _'Chei,_

 _I'm okay, mostly. Don't worry._

 _Ei'wi-mina'eon terna ei'su'figa-ia._

 _Θ ∑_

"Where _is_ he?!" Koschei shouted, tears in his eyes. He whirled to face Jack. "What did you do to him?!"

"'Chei, calm down," Martha said, always the calm one. "But he's got a point, do you have any reason he might not have come to school?"

"I..." Jack thought for a moment. "I told him I didn't want to see him here again, but I was angry and I only meant the library..."

The four glared at him.

"I think you have some explaining to do," Martha said dangerously.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, they had taken Jack to the ice cream parlor where he was explaining everything that had happened between him and the Doctor. Koschei had leaped across the table and tried to choke him like he choked his best friend, but Donna dragged him back and was forcing him to sit nicely.

"...but lunch is almost over, and we have to get back to class-"

"No, we're not going," Koschei growled. "We're finding him. School can suck my a-"

"Sounds like a plan!" Martha purposely interrupted him before he could finish. "Let's go. Where do you think he would be?"

"He doesn't want me to come find him," Jack protested. "I nearly killed him yesterday."

"You get to," Donna said, leaving no room for argument.

"He wouldn't be at his own house if he can avoid it," Koschei said. "He hates being in his house, so he's somewhere around town. He likes the library, he likes it here, he likes it at the park too."

And so ensued a desperate search across the small town for their friend, dragging a protesting Jack with them. Martha and Mickey were checking the library, Donna and Shaun (who had been dragged along too) were checking the park, and Koschei and Jack were checking their neighborhood and then wherever else they could think. They agreed to meet back in the ice cream parlor in two hours.

"Remind me why we're looking for him," Jack drolled.

Kochei spun around to face him. "You did this. You chased him away and if we're not careful I may never see him again."

Jack said nothing and followed Koschei to his and Theta's neighborhood.

"You guys live here?" Jack breathed. It was a rundown, trashed area. The road needed some paving and the houses desperately needed some work. It was, in one word, a ghetto.

"Don't fucking judge," Koschei said, walking up to a blueish house with various items littered about the front yard. He looked in a window, and while Jack couldn't see anything of importance, Koschei announced, "He's not here" and opened the door.

"If he's not here then why are we going inside?" Jack followed him up the steps.

"Idiot, because his dad is the one who's not here, not Theta. Theta might be here." He led the way upstairs past what could be a kitchen, full of dirty dishes and randomly placed things and beer bottles. They reached the Doctor's room. Koschei knocked four times in rapid succession before opening the door.

The room inside was so shocking to Jack that he didn't really believe it was truly Theta's room. The walls were painted blue, and the floor was covered in a dirty white carpet. There were no clothes on the floor. In fact, there was _nothing_ on the floor. There was a single window on the wall farthest from where Jack stood in the doorway, and underneath the window was a bed with a single pillow and blanket. It looked more like a camp-bed than an actual bed and it looked only slightly larger than the Doctor was tall. The ceiling itself slanted in a downwards angle, eventually coming down to meet the wall on the right. It looked like a very small space and Jack wondered why he wouldn't put the bed somewhere else. On the left-hand wall, by the end of the bed, was a simple brown wardrobe with doors that opened and drawers underneath it that pulled out. The bed was made and upon further inspection, all the clothes in the closet were hung up or folded neatly. In the corner to the left of the doorway was a desk. Jack assumed he did homework here, but like everything else in the room it was neatly organized and the drawers proved to be empty. There were only pencils on the surface of the desk. Theta's backpack leaned against it, and it was also organized neatly inside. The only thing of notable interest was the small bookshelf next to the wardrobe, all neatly organized by author.

"Why doesn't he have anything in his room?" Jack asked.

"He's got plenty of stuff," Koschei responded, looking under the bed. "Bed, clothes, desk, books, that's all he needs."

"But doesn't he have anything else? Like posters, or paintings or papers he wants to keep?"

Koschei shrugged, looking confused. "Why would he have any of that?" He paused. "Well, one time he had a plant on the windowsill, but it died a while ago, and he's not gotten around to replacing it."

"A plant," Jack said. "That's it? What about decorations, or anything?"

Koschei shook his head. "He's never had anything like that. He hates clutter."

"But the rest of the house-" Jack began.

"Is a stark difference to Thete's room and he's proud of it," Koschei finished. "He's not here, now let's go. I don't like being in this house for very long."

* * *

They'd checked Koschei's house, which was built the same way as Theta's, but painted gold. It wasn't as messy inside but it looked a lot more like a home than Theta's had, and Koschei actually had stuff in his room. However, the Doctor proved not to be there, either, so they left and were now walking around town, looking for him.

After a while, Koschei had an idea.

"He might have gone to southside," he said. "He's always liked southside..."

Jack snorted at this. "Why? Southside is dumb. They're just old-ass buildings."

"That's why he likes it," Koschei said, beginning to walk in the direction of The Bridge. "He likes history, and old things. They make him sad."

"They make him a fuckin' weirdo," Jack muttered, but caught up with Koschei. After a while, they reached the fence that blocked northside from southside.

"There's no way he got over this," Jack said. "It's too tall, he could never have climbed it."

"He's done it before. It's not hard, you just put your foot here-" he demonstrated "-then hold onto here, and then..." he grunted and pushed himself up, then grabbed the top of the wall and hauled himself to the other side, then slid down. "Your turn," he said from behind the fence. A moment passed and Jack fell from the top instead of jumping like Koschei, but he made it anyway.

"And that's how you do it," Koschei said. "See if you can spot him somewhere."

They walked along until they reached The Bridge. In actuality, it was named Crossovers, but nobody actually called it that these days and it was simply The Bridge. It went up over a fast-running river, about fifty feet above it. To get on it, there were ten steep steps leading to the beam of the bridge, and then it let you down to the other side with more stairs. It was simple but small and rickety, which is why the city had ordered people stop using it, thus creating the societal distance from southside and northside. There weren't too many people in southside, however, just mostly the homeless population and people who didn't have anywhere else to go. There were a lot of old, deserted buildings that Theta loved to explore.

"Come on," Koschei muttered, going up the steps. Jack nearly fell down them twice but managed to keep his balance, and soon they were overlooking the White Water River.

However, to their horror, right there was sitting the Doctor, on the edge of the bridge, looking down at the water below him.


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh my god he's-" Koschei made to lunge for the Doctor, sitting without a care in the world above death. Jack caught him and held him back. "Go slowly," he advised, "Just in case you scare him and he jumps."

Koschei nodded and went slowly this time. The roar of the river was too loud for him to call out, so he tapped the bridge lightly so his friend could feel him approaching.

The Doctor turned and only saw Koschei. He grinned and waved.

"Doctor," Koschei said. "Please, you could fall, please come away from the edge."

"I... I like watching- watching the w-water," was the reply. "S-sometimes... I come here, a-and it calms me d-down."

"Precariously dangling over death does not generally calm me down," Koschei said, "But whatever works for you."

The Doctor laughed. "N-not like that. I l-like the water."

"Well, can we go, maybe? We can even go explore southside if you want, just please can we get off this bridge?"

"Wait." The Doctor looked right at Koschei. "Y-you had something... s-something to tell me."

"Oh." Koschei turned bright red and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Um, well, um, can it wait...?"

"I think," the Doctor said, taking a deep breath. "I... think I kn-know, already."

"Y-you do?" Koschei looked away.

The Doctor leaned close and whispered into his ear. " _Ei'wi-mina'eon terna cera ei'figa-ia."_

The Master turned bright red at this statement. "You- really?"

"Yes," the Doctor said. "I-I wrote it for you o-on m-my note. 'Chei, I-I've known... f-for a long time."

Koschei grabbed the Doctor in a tight hug. "I love you too."

Theta grabbed his friend's face to look in his eyes. "L-last night, I f-found out s-something."

"What is it?"

"I..." There was a long silence. "I'm asexual."

Koschei grinned. "Of course that's okay. I love you anyway."

And suddenly, they found themselves in a passionate kiss- neither knew who had instigated it. They sat there, embraced, until they needed air.

The Master laughed breathily. "Come on, let's go." He stood up and offered a hand to the Doctor, who reached up to take it.

"It's about _time_ you two got together," Jack said, having suddenly appeared next to Koschei. Then, simultaneously, two things happened.

One, the Doctor flinched so hard at the sudden appearance of his would-be murderer and bully that he slipped and missed Koschei's hand. The second was that Koschei moved his hand slightly to give a snarky reply to Jack, therefore causing the Doctor to miss grabbing his hand.

Then, before anyone really had a chance to analyze the situation, the Doctor was hanging by one hand from the bridge, barely holding onto the railing.

 _"Doctor!"_ Koschei shouted and immediately dived to the ground in order to try and catch the boy. "You're going to be okay! I've got you."

The Doctor was too frightened to speak and stared up at his friend and his bully in terror. Koschei looked at Jack, who was standing there and wondering what to do.

 _"Help me!"_ He cried.

As if snapping out of a dream, Jack marched up and leaned over the railing, his hand hovering over the Doctor. He was met with frightful eyes.

"Trust me," Jack said. "I don't want you to die because of me, we've already almost done that once. I'm going to lift you up, over the rails- but I need you to _trust me_ just this one time." He looked into brown eyes. "Please."

The Doctor nodded shakily and Jack immediately lowered himself to lift the Doctor by his collar. It was a miracle he didn't flinch, or Jack would have missed and he would have lost his grip on the railing and tumbled down, lost to the depths of the waters. Thankfully, Jack was strong and with some help from Koschei and the Doctor himself, he managed to get the boy over the railing without much trouble.

"You're safe," Koschei said, hugging the Doctor tightly. "You're safe now, I won't ever let go."

"Come on you two," Jack said after they'd stood there awhile in each other's embrace. "We should go. Two hours is up."

"Right," Koschei said, following Jack and the Doctor down the stairs and off the bridge. On the way back to the parlor, he talked with his friend, making sure Jack was out of earshot.

"Why didn't you come to school today?"

The Doctor's eyes flicked to Jack. "H-he said he di-didn't wa-ant to s-see me again."

Koschei looked ready for murder, but perhaps an image of an irate Donna Noble popped into his mind, preventing him from doing anything he would regret. "Why do you listen to him?"

The Doctor shrugged, seeming to think. "I... I think he j-just needs s-someone."

"But he terrifies you. Why do you listen to him?"

"I...don't know," the Doctor whispered.

The parlor was filled with their friends, who all seemed very glad to see the Doctor again. Koschei explained everything to them.

"That's one big story," Mickey said. "I could use an ice cream soda."

"I'll go g-get some for e-everyone," the Doctor said, getting up to order at the counter. He placed their respective orders in and suddenly, Jack appeared on his left.

"Hey," he said. "Listen, I'm... I'm really sorry for yesterday, and the way I've treated you since you got to high school. It's not right, and I know an apology can't fix everything, so... I don't really know what to do besides that. You- you don't have to do my work for me anymore, though, and I'm gonna stop bullying you." He turned to look at a man to his left. "That's Ianto... he's the one who made me come over here. But, anyway, I'm sorry."

Theta sat there in silence for a few minutes, then, "I forgive you."

"You do?" Jack said in surprise.

"Y-yes," he said. "Everyone d-deserves a s-second chance. E-even you... just, l-learn from it, okay? Remember w-who you _u-used_ to be a-and remember that's n-not who you are an-nymore. L-learn from your mistakes and d-don't be that person _ever_ again."

"I can do that," Jack said, smiling. He looked like a new person- happy and full of life. The Doctor had never seen him this way. "Thanks, Doc."

The Doctor smiled back at him. The man behind the counter gave him the sodas and he walked back to his friends.

"Hey, thanks, Doc," Koschei said. "Oh, hey guys, there's one more part of the story I didn't tell you."

"What's that?" Donna asked, drinking her soda.

Koschei turned to the Doctor, grabbed him, and kissed him full on the lips as the other whooped and cheered.

"Now _that's_ what I call an ending!"

* * *

 **Sorry for the sucky ending :/ I couldn't really think of what else to end on besides them being all kissy. Hehe. I've been a long time shipper of doctorxmaster so this is my first story on that, haha.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed :)**


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